David Galula’s first of four “Laws of Counterinsurgency” is the utmost reflected in the United States counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, which most closely resembled the theory of “Hearts and Minds.” The President Obama’s speech and General Petraeus’s guidance outlined the United States counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan. Galual’s first law of counterinsurgency stands incorporated as the prevailing theme of the United States counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan. Moreover, the Unites States counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan predominately resembled Austin Long’s theory of “Hearts and Minds.” The President Obama’s 2009 West Point Speech and General Petraeus’s Commander of International Security Assistance Force counterinsurgency guidance outlined the United States Afghanistan counterinsurgency strategy. …show more content…
The United States strategy overwhelming resembled “Hearts and Minds” with its focus on establishing a capable and honest government by addressing corruption and abuse within the Afghanistan government. The strategy aimed to improve the standards of living in Afghanistan by focusing on security and improving the overall safety of the citizens of Afghanistan. While the United States strategy had some elements of “Cost/Benefit,” such as the “stick” approach to insurgents unwilling to reintegrate, it was not the dominate
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was incredibly eager to strike back at the nations thought to be responsible for this horrific tragedy. These attacks were quickly attributed to the terrorist group al-Qa’ida, led by Osama bin Laden, and to the Taliban-run government of Afghanistan, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’ida. In response, Washington approved a covert plan led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to directly attack those responsible in their Middle East safe haven. Initiated on 26 September 2001 with the approval of the warlords of the Afghan Northern Alliance, with whom the CIA had formed an intelligence liaison relationship, Operation Jawbreaker resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime, the killing and capture of a significant amount of al-Qa’ida leadership, and elimination of a terrorist safe haven by early December 2001. Moreover, the Taliban’s collapse denied al-Qa’ida a pseudo-nation-state partner, serving to reduce the organization’s sanctuary to areas residing along the Pakistani border. Operation Jawbreaker, one of the first post-9/11 covert operations carried out by the United States in support of its national security interests, had proved successful. Word of the operation’s swift success astounded those back in Washington; dubbed the CIA’s “finest hour,” it signified the first of many victories by deposing the Taliban’s control of Northern Afghanistan.
Smith, Gordon. “Canada in Afghanistan: Is it working?” Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute, 2007.
September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.” The US immediately sent SOF units and CIA officers to recon the area and meet with the Northern Alliance. The primary battle leading up to this operation was Tora Bora, which was absent of conventional forces. Up until this point, the war on terror was predominantly a Special Operations fight along with Air Force for overhead support.3 SOF and the Northern Alliance had already displaced Taliban forces out of many towns and villages in northern Afghanistan to gain control of key terrain. Key towns in northern Afghanistan including Taloqan, Konduz, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif took only three weeks to clear.4 The SOF units were making huge impacts across the country calling in air strikes. At the same time the SOF units were diligently...
“How nice- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive” (Vonnegut 181).
In the novel All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque one of the major themes he illustrates is the effects of war on a soldier 's humanity. Paul the protagonist is a German soldier who is forced into war with his comrades that go through dehumanizing violence. War is a very horrid situation that causes soldiers like Paul to lose their innocence by stripping them from happiness and joy in life. The symbols Remarque uses to enhance this theme is Paul 's books and the potato pancakes to depict the great scar war has seared on him taking all his connections to life. Through these symbols they deepen the theme by visually depicting war’s impact on Paul. Paul’s books represent the shadow war that is casted upon Paul and his loss of innocence. This symbol helps the theme by depicting how the war locked his heart to old values by taking his innocence. The last symbol that helps the theme are the potato pancakes. The potato pancakes symbolize love and sacrifice by Paul’s mother that reveal Paul emotional state damaged by the war with his lack of happiness and gratitude.
The truth behind stories is not always what happened, with each person 's perspective is where their truth lies. In the beginning of the novel, you start to think that it is going to be the same old war stories you read in the past, but it changes direction early. It is not about how the hero saves the day, but how each experience is different and how it stays with you. From his story about Martha, to how he killed a man, each one is so different, but has its own meaning that makes people who have not been in war, understand what it is like. Tim O’Brien can tell a fake story and make you believe it with no doubt in your mind. He does this throughout the novel. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien distinguishes truth from fantasy and the
“The more sure I am that I 'm right, the more likely I will actually be mistaken. My need to be right makes it more likely that I will be wrong! Likewise, the more sure I am that I am mistreated, the more likely I am to miss ways that I am mistreating others myself. My need for justification obscures the truth." This sentence is one of many quotes from the book I really liked and agreed with. After reading The Anatomy of Peace, I realized that the Arbinger Institute was deeply insightful helping me to understand the reality and myself. I also realized that the moment I start to agree with this statement, I walked out of my box.
My Lai was a town in Vietnam that was attacked by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War. Soldiers were under the impression that all civilians who were not a part of the Viet Cong (North Vietnam) were out of town for the market. They received this information from Intelligence and they were wrong. The helicopters started flying in and all the soldiers were clearly informed that there were to be no survivors from this town. Malevolent obedience was portrayed in this war and there are factors that I would like to share to help explain this. (Video in Lecture).
Matthews, Matt M. "We Have Not Learned How to Wage War There" The Soviet Approach in Afghanistan 1979-1989 Occasional Paper 36. Lexington: Combat Studies Institute, 2011.
Recent technological advancements on show in the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have indicated, to some, that there is a new American way of war. Scholars, however, do not seem to have reached consensus on what a new way of war for the United States would embody. Depending on the scholar, their beliefs are underwritten by the American ability to wage war with highly interconnected, agile, precise, and extremely damaging methods or because the United States is capable of waging war with a small, Special Forces centered footprint. Other scholars argue that there is not a new American way of war because traditional methods are still necessary in many kinds of conflict. Scholars who address this question focus on conflicts that they believe to be important indicators of how the United States will act in the future, but miss the forest for the trees. The choice of a particular method of combat in any given war is not the result of some national tendency, but rather the result of the political object desired. The political object is the ultimate arbiter of the choice of strategy in war, and that is certainly not new to how the United States wages war.
Along with the financial costs, there is human cost with the loss of life of civilians, Canadian soldiers. The invasion of Afghanistan is only a short term solution to a bigger problem. When Canada and other nations leave the country, the Taliban and the warlord tribes will continue to insight fear on the Afghan citizens (Endersby, 2011). Conclusion Canada’s involvement has brought about a continuous debate on whether or not they should be in Afghanistan fighting a war that is half a world away. The events of September 11, 2001 in the United States reinforced the need to fight terrorism on a global scale.
Compare and contrast the attitudes to war as reflected in for the fallen and the send off. 'For the fallen' and 'The Send-off' are poems written demonstrating attitudes towards war. Whilst banyan conveys an idealised, romantic picture of war that depicts the soldiers as heroic and courageous, Owens attitudes towards war are more pessimistic in nature. Owen uses appearance versus reality to show the corruption and misery of war. Binyan and Owen convey their attitudes through the language, structure and poetic devices they employ The attitudes to war in 'for the fallen' are patriotic and romanticised.
Thinking historically while conducting counterinsurgency in the 21st century poses questions regarding how to develop political and strategic plans. This bibliographic essay will examine the political and military aspect of fighting counterinsurgent warfare by 20th century theorists Galula’s, “Counterinsurgency Warfare Theory and Practice” and Trinquier’s, “Counterinsurgency Warfare Theory and Practice”. Strategy in fighting guerilla wars will be discussed by comparing conflicts in battles and ideologies from the past to current day. Moreover, ways to avoid the one size fits all war mentality when combating modern day insurgents will be recommended.
War can destroy a man both in body and mind for the rest of his life. In “The Sniper,” Liam O’Flaherty suggests the horror of war not only by presenting its physical dangers, but also by showing its psychological effects. We are left to wonder which has the longer lasting effect—the visible physical scars or the ones on the inside?
Afghanistan is like a time capsule. Many people farm for subsistence, and few are able to read or write. Afghans have been compared to Spartans in that they are a martial people who have been at war for thousands of years. The rough terrain in which they live lends itself to long periods of resistance. Time and time again they have been able to push away would be conquerors. The current war in Afghanistan stands in contrast to previous wars because its purpose is not one of conquest for land or for the exploitation of resources. The purpose of the current war in Afghanistan is to win over the Afghan people and to help them grow ideologically to assimilate into an ever more technologically advanced global environment.